Event: Healing Waters

[voidtreckermods]

"Good morning passengers, it is day twenty three of the month of Grasshopper. All passengers of the Voidtrecker Express require rest. Next stop Jema’grethy Island. All passengers prepare to disembark."

It is a very strange morning message that rings through the train on the morning of day twenty three but as the passengers of the Voidtrecker Express wake their screens glow with the colour of the void and a holographic screen pops up for them to read.

World #2554098133741: A world once inhabited by an ancient civilisation and now preserved as a historical site, nature reserve and well-being retreat. It is famous for its relaxing hot springs, calming atmosphere and beautiful beaches.

It is a popular void-traveller destination, particularly among void missionaries as a place to rest and recuperate after difficult missions.

The Voidtrecker Express will spend three days here, arriving today and leaving on day twenty six of the month of Grasshopper. The dressing carriage is open for your convenience.

It is time for a holiday it seems!

Preparation

For those who go to explore the dressing carriage they will find a variety of beachwear and wetsuits. One cupboard has a pile of tents and groundsheets in all four team colours.

One cabinet is exclusively filled with beach towels, in a kaleidoscope of colours, designs and patterns. Another is filled with different shapes and sizes of plain towel dressing gowns. There is even a cabinet with buckets, spades and small rock-pooling nets.

It seems they are in for quite an adventure.

Arrival

"Shortly arriving on World #2554098133741. Exit from void in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."

The train lurches and rattles as it leaves the void they will get a glimpse of silver-purple sky and a beautiful ocean below.

However some passengers might be a little more than distracted, one staring at that table for a second too long, another seeming lost in thought for a couple of seconds, a longer than normal pause in a sentence. They see a vision, a glimpse of a life that is not their own. Not all at once, but here and there as the train descends to the island.

But then it is gone and things are back to normal. Just in time, as they come to land.

Jema’grethy Island

The train has landed on a grassy ridge, overlooking a beautiful beach of white sand and the ocean beyond. It is warm, but not too hot, a cool ocean breeze cutting through the heat making it pleasant. Behind them is a grassy plain, changing to forest in the distance. There is the sound of birdsong in the purple sky. To the west the land is more craggy, the silhouette of a fortress in the distance. In a word, it is idylic. A sense of peace permeates the island.

A little more worrying is the volcano-like structure in the north. But even a quick glance will show it is not a typical volcano. There is no smoke and the liquid slowly running down it in rivulets is pink and blue.

Exploring the passengers will find beautiful beaches, ragged cliffs to walk and caves to explore. Where it is more craggy the beaches are made of pebbles- perfect for rock pooling.

The place has no people, but it is clearly maintained. The eastern beaches have racks of shallow boats, both canoes and one- or two-person sailing dinghies. There is also a small building in which scuba gear is stored, along with several waterproofed manuals and instructional literature.

Ruins of ancient houses are scattered across the island, but the main settlement is built into a rocky section in the north-west that has been secured with ropes and stairways cut into the cliffs, perfect for scrambles and hikes.

There are no living quarters, but there are sheltered sections with basic toilet facilities marked as camping grounds in five different sections of the island - by the hot springs, within the ruined fortress, beside the harbour, on the eastern beaches, and on the northern face of the mountain.

Hot Springs

To the west are the hot springs. They have both outdoor and indoor areas; the indoor areas being wooden loghouse saunas, changing rooms and storage sheds, whilst the outdoor areas are a tiered series of pools spilling down the side of the mountain and shaded by brightly flowering trees. The waters are hot, mineral-rich and soothing.

Perfect for overly stressed, world weary Void heroes...

(OOC: More setting information is here, please feel free to go wild with the setting and have a fun and relaxing time. You can use this post as a catch all for your holiday or make your own posts on middleofsomewhere. More information about how the memory event is structured is here!)

Comments

[callmegladio]

"You try? No way." Gladio held up a hand as if to stop Romeo before he went and just shoved his whole hand into the stuff. "Wouldn't forgive myself if it turned out to be some kind of acid." Though when he removed the stick he'd been poking the liquid with, the stick came away fine. Just covered with the goop.

"... Not sure the best way to actually test this stuff out. I don't have a jar with me." And he was definitely not science minded. He was kind of tempted to just stick his own hand in and see what happened.

[myblueskies]

"Okay sir! We should be careful then!"

And luckily the stick seems fine. Romeo thought for a moment and then had an idea.

"I got a water bottle!" He found it quickly in his bag. "We could put some in there, and then we can figure out what it is!"

[callmegladio]

"That's a good idea." Gladio said with a grin. "Good thinking, kiddo." He didn't know how they'd try and figure out what it was, but it was a start at the very least.

He held out his hand for the bottle, not really comfortable with Romeo getting too close until they knew for sure it was safe. But some odd feeling was telling him it probably was safe. He was just being cautious.

[myblueskies]

He handed it over and watched carefully to see what he would do. "Be careful sir! It might be hot!" It didn't seem hot, there was no smoke or steam but it was a volcano! They should be very careful!

[callmegladio]

"I'll be careful." He promised and took the bottle, poured what little water was left inside of it and used the stick to help scoop some of the strange liquid into the bottle. It wasn't that easy, the hole was small and the liquid thick, and Gladio was trying not to get his fingers in the stuff. But he managed to scoop enough up and lifted the bottle.

Stepping back he sat himself down and looked at it, puzzled. "... It's not melting the bottle. And..." He sniffed at it, his confusion mounting. "It smells... sweet?" He held it out to Romeo. "Right?"

[myblueskies]

He watched carefully, seeing how Gladio was filling the bottle. The liquid looked strange as it dripped into the bottle but at least it hadn't melted it! That would have been bad!

He sniffed it when the bottle was handed out. "It does! It smells yummy! Like it would be good to eat!"

[callmegladio]

"You wanna eat this stuff?" Gladio looked shocked. Sure, the it did kind of smell nice... and he was a little tempted... But some soaps smelled really nice as well, but he knew not to eat it! This stuff was some alien goop that came out of a mountain. And while he might well have taken water from a mountain such as that, he was a little uncertain about this. "... I don't know, kiddo... Might not eat the plastic, but my stomach might be a whole other thing."

[myblueskies]

"It smells nice... But it might not be good to eat.."

He doesn't know, but it definitely looks like it would be very yummy. "I never heard of anything that smelled nice that wasn't good to eat."

A pause. "Except some flowers I guess. You shouldn't eat flowers..."